Buffalo-Niagara Falls ranked in top 20 for overseas visitors to U.S.

For the first time ever, the Buffalo
Niagara region is one of the top 20 U.S. destinations for overseas
visitors.

This month, the U.S. Department of
Commerce's Office of Travel and Tourism Industries released its
"Overseas Visitation Estimates for U.S. States, Cities, and Census
Regions" report for 2011. The report estimates that the
Buffalo-Niagara Falls metro statistical area received 335,000
visitors from outside the U.S., Canada and Mexico in 2011, making it
the 20th ranked metro area in the U.S.

"We are pleased to receive
confirmation that our worldwide sales efforts have paid off. From
Niagara Falls State Park, to the historic Erie Canal and Old Fort
Niagara, all of our attractions are impacted by this in-bound
audience," said NTCC President and CEO John Percy. "Being a top
20 location is evidence that the iconic brand of Niagara Falls USA
and this region as a whole is a place travelers want to visit -
from all corners of the globe."

"This report confirms that Buffalo
Niagara's tourism assets - world-class art, culture,
architecture, nature and history - are drawing the attention of
overseas travelers more than ever," said Visit Buffalo Niagara
President and CEO Dottie Gallagher-Cohen. "In the past six months,
the Albright-Knox Art Gallery has been the primary destination for
visitors from Switzerland, Germany, England, Scotland, Spain, Japan,
Belgium, Korea and France. Over the course of the last year, Frank
Lloyd Wright's Darwin Martin House welcomed visitors from 30
countries, arriving from as far away as Denmark, Brazil and
Singapore. If you thumb through the guest book at the Roycroft
Campus, you'll find names from France, China, Ireland and Germany -
just since April."

About

Visit Buffalo
Niagara sells and markets Western New York assets and attractions to
visitors outside of the Buffalo Niagara region as a convention,
tourism and leisure destination for the economic benefit of the
community.

The mission of the Niagara Tourism &
Convention Corporation is to expand the economic prosperity of the
Niagara USA communities by generating individual and group
visitation.